Since day one I have mis-set the delay settings on my HK AVR 525. When reading the instructions I somehow assumed that each delay setting was measured from the TV to the subject speaker! Only yesterday did the light come on and I realized that the measurement is from the prime listening position to the speaker.

No, actually most recievers measure delay from the listening position, not the TV. It would be silly to set delay based on distance from the TV as it is very unlikely that you are sitting on top of it.

In most HT setups all of your speakers can't be the exact same distance from your listening position. "Delay," delays the sound from certain speakers, most often those that are closer to you, so that it artificially makes it sound as if they are at the same distance as those speakers further away.